Diane von Fürstenberg Thinks Bill de Blasio Is ‘Divine’

Fashion legend Diane von Fürstenberg has given her stamp of approval to Bill de Blasio.

“I loved him, loved him. He’s so attractive!” she gushed after meeting the new mayor for the first time at a press event kicking off the start of Fashion Week.

“I thought he was attractive, nice, funny, divine!” she said.

Mr. de Blasio made his grand entrance into the fashion world today with a visit to the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Fashion Incubator in the Garment District, where he announced the winners of a grant contest to support fashion manufacturing and touted the importance of the industry.

And Mr. de Blasio–who is unknown to many industry bigwigs, according to today’s New York Times, and had not previously met many of the people assembled–seemed to be doing his very best to charm the industry brass in the room, including designer Nanette Lepore, who designed the outfits his wife and his daughter wore to his inauguration.

“You know, Diane designed what she’s wearing today. I asked if she could get me those pants in a business suit look,” he joked, pointing to her skinny black and burnt burgundy pants. “I wanted to make a statement, I really did.”

He later vowed to make building the industry a priority of his administration and praised Fashion Week as “one of the great gatherings in this city each year.” (“This job involves a lot more than just snow,” he noted.) He went on to tell the story of his grandmother, an Italian immigrant, who opened a dress shop in the district on 35th Street.

“You’re one of us!” Ms. von Fürstenberg burst out, delighted.

“I am. I just didn’t let on until now,” the mayor replied with a smile, joking, “Actually Diane and I go to Milan all the time. I just didn’t want to talk about it.”

Ms. von Fürstenberg and the mayor’s predecessor, Michael Bloomberg, always appeared to get along famously at the many events they headlined together. But Ms. Von Fürstenberg, wearing large sunglasses, a sweater with fluffy fur collar and lots of gold jewelry, seemed happy to welcome his successor to the family.

“I am very excited to welcome you, very excited,” she told the towering Mr. de Blasio, himself dressed in a crisp white shirt, purple patterned tie and signature gray suit. “I welcome you with open arms. And we will all work for you and we will all help you.”

“Our industry brings a lot of jobs, our industry brings a lot of tourist, our industry brings a lot of glamour,” she added, commending Mr. de Blasio for making his first visit to the industry at the incubator space. “We are warm, we are loving, we are young, we are old. But we all care about what we do.”

Ms. von Fürstenberg seems to have a thing for mayors. Two years ago, in the same space, Ms. von Fürstenberg was asked by Politicker whether she had any fashion advice for the then-mayor.

“He’s so hot, he doesn’t need any,” she said, as Mr. Bloomberg rolled his eyes.